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I am trying to decide between Yamaha B1 vs. B2 silent pianos. B1 felt better to me in terms of action, but B2 had clearly better sound and more even tone (and is also more expensive of course). I noticed that the B1 I played has large gaps between the white/black keys, which lets you see into the piano - see picture below. I didn't see that on the B2 or U1 models I played under similar lighting. Is that normal for the B1? I'm trying to understand if it's a quirk of the unit I played or there by design. I find it distracting when playing and looking at the keys and I worry it'll drive me crazy.

One black key looks narrower than what is usual in the picture you posted - could be a manufacturing defect and easily fixed by replacing the key by the dealer if so. Or it could be the photo playing tricks with my old eyes. Just had a look at my 1974 Yamaha U1 - when shining a light at it while taking a photo I can see into the area beneath the keys - can’t see anything with the naked eye though.

Thanks to all who replied, glad it’s not only me who thinks this is off. I asked the dealer and am waiting to hear back. I still don’t quite understand how this defect could arise - why the wrong black keys, if that’s what it is, would end up in this piano? Is it a manufacturing defect or something the dealer might have done? This is supposedly a brand new piano.

Regarding the picture: the gap is definitely visible by eye, not just through the camera. The only thing that’s potentially misleading about the picture is that many of the keys have this gap when you take a top down view, not just the black key that stands out. The picture probably makes the problem look less severe.

If there’s anyone with experience with B1s I’d love to know whether you’ve seen this before. I have never seen this on any other Yamaha piano.

I noticed that the B1 I played has large gaps between the white/black keys, which lets you see into the piano

Just to be clear from your first post - there are large gaps between ALL of the white/black keys, am I correct? OR just the one key you show?

The gaps are definitely apparent in more than just that one key, but they didn't seem to be in all keys; or at least the gaps didn't seem to be all the same size. At first I thought this was due to lighting conditions and the middle of the piano being more illuminated. But looking more closely it looks like actual gaps. In any case, I find these gaps very distracting when playing so even if it's supposed to be like this on the B1s - which I am doubting - I would be very reluctant to buy the B1.

P.S. Love the great Cunningham Piano videos and comparisons on YouTube! Keep up the great work. I watched your videos on B1 silent and comparison of B1 vs. B2 vs. B3 multiple times...

Update on this, for those who are curious: this is simply how the B1 is built. I have tried another unit and it was the same. (This isn’t the case for B2 or B3.)

To be fair to the B1: If you don’t illuminate the piano from above as showrooms do, the gaps are less of an issue (at least in my opinion) because then the keys throw shade on the gap and the insides of the piano don’t stand out. Thanks to all who responded again.